The project considers the change of some materials in boats and the use of larger fishing nets, in order for birds like shearwaters and pelicans not to get stuck in nets.
The pink-footed shearwater (Ardenna creatopus) is a migratory bird that arrives to Chilean territory during springtime to nest, with Mocha Island and Juan Fernández Archipelago being its favourite areas.
After its reproduction process, the pink-footed shearwater return to the summertime in the Northern Hemisphere. However, during upbringing and migration, many specimens die trying to from sardine and anchovy shoals caught in fishing nets.
This incident motivated the BirdLife International NGO, through ATF-Chile and fishing company Blumar, to set a project monitoring fishing fleets, where the pilot work included the modification of three craft boats in Talcahuano.
The head of operations of Blumar, Enrique Cisterna, said the decision of taking part was not easy, because they had to build trust and take a high risk in this collaborative job.
“This project has definitely marked an evolution in the company. Active involvement with a focus on protecting a sea bird was really innovative for everyyone, a contribution to our new way of facing the challenges the world imposes on us in terms of sustainability,” highlighted Cisterna.
Cristián Suazo, coordinator of the ATF-Chile program by BirdLife International, mentioned that, in a maritime context, they dedicate to diagnosis, development and promotion of mitigation measures aboard fishing vessels (both craft and industrial ones), with the aim of reducing the impact of collisions and entanglements in fishing nets.
“In 2018, BirdLife signed a deal in association with Blumar, a company that has actively participated in designing and developing mitigation measures, hence reducing collision events and bird entanglements in southern Chile.”
Suazo added that, in this type of fishing companies, one of the species most associated to these events of negative interaction is the pink-footed shearwater, diving sea bird associated to encirclements, because it consumes the same captured species.
This bird is a very migratory bird species, in fact, after its reproduction it can reach distant areas like the Canadian Pacific coast. As a result, preserving this type of sea bird is a national commitment, but also international, specified the coordinator of the ATF-Chile program by BirdLife International.
Sea birds
There is a large spectrum of sea bird species related to this type of fishing. According to Cristián Suazo, we can find shearwaters, cormorants, albatrosses and pelicans.
What other birds are endangered? According to the specialist, there are different conservation status faced by sea birds. They are defined by their population quantity, distribution range, among other criteria, which might condition their natural populations towards extinction. In the case of sea birds, major sources of risk are invasive species like rodents, who eat eggs and chicks in colonies.
In the sea, one of the important threats is capture and mortality of specimens in fishing operations. “The good thing is that national regulations, international treaties, and policies by fishing companies and guilds, are in line with discussing and taking actions that allow them to develop their activities, but preserving species interacting with their activiies in the marine environment,” coined Suazo, coordinator of the ATF-Chile program by BirdLife International.